They can be difficult to operate if electrical systems fail after a crash.
Tesla and 10 other automakers have recalled nearly 4.3 million vehicles in China over concerns that hidden door handles may be difficult to open in an emergency, according to a report by Reuters. This is the country’s largest automotive recall to date.
Tesla is being hit hardest by this recall, as it impacts nearly 3 million imported and China-made Model 3, Model Y, Model S and Model X vehicles. The company has said it will install warning labels, free of charge, to identify the handles. The same goes for eight of the other companies, including Xiaomi.
Many of the manufacturers are also issuing software fixes. These will automatically lower a vehicle’s windows after a collision, potentially making it easier for passengers to escape and for rescue workers to do their thing.
This is just one move China is making against concealed door handles. The country is banning them outright in 2027. This is a design widely used by not just Tesla, but by many domestic Chinese EV makers. The upcoming standards mandate mechanical releases on both the interior and exterior of all vehicle doors that can be operated without power.
What’s the issue exactly? Well, these mechanical doors can be difficult to operate or even locate if a vehicle’s electrical system fails, as exemplified by recent incidents in China, including a fatal crash involving a Xiaomi sedan where bystanders were unable to open the doors to rescue a trapped driver.
The US is also looking into this whole hidden door handle thing. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into Tesla’s electronic door handles because of the same heightened safety risk.
For its part, Tesla has suggested the company is open to a redesign. Design head Franz von Holzhausen said it’s considering a new approach that combines electric and manual release mechanisms. “The idea of combining the electronic one and the manual one together into one button, I think, makes a lot of sense,” he said. “That’s something that we’re working on.”
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